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Giving All Iowa Children Equal Opportunity to Thrive

PHOTO: A new scorecard on the progress of children in Iowa shows the need to create more opportunity for kids of color. Photo credit: Victoria Harjadi.

April 1, 2014

DES MOINES, Iowa - The face of Iowa is changing, and as the state becomes more diverse, a new report shows, more efforts are needed to make sure all children, especially kids of color, are positioned to thrive. The analysis shows the state does well comparatively in milestones for success for white children, but poorly in those measures for blacks, according to Michael Crawford, coordinator for Iowa Kids Count.

"If you look at non-Hispanic white children, we rank 17th among the 50 states, so we're in the top third or so there," he said. "But when you look at African-American children, we're ranked 30th, so we're in the bottom half, unfortunately."

In all, the report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation examined a dozen indicators of key childhood milestones in the areas of development, education and health.

To close the racial divide, Crawford said, the public, private and nonprofit sectors must come together with investments and solutions, focused on the children with the greatest needs.

"There are programs in place around the country that help low-income families, children of color, etc., and we just need to maybe replicate those programs in those areas."

The demographic changes and barriers for children of color in Iowa are also similar to those nationwide. That's why efforts on providing equal opportunities are needed in all states, said Laura Speer with the Casey Foundation.

"We think it's a really critical time for the country to focus on improving outcomes for these kids, since they really are going to be the future success of the country."

According to Census Bureau projections, by 2018, children of color will represent a majority of children in the U.S. By 2030, a majority of the American labor force will be people of color.

The full report "Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children" is at AECF.org.